What is a convergent church?
THE CONVERGENCE MOVEMENT [Click to download PDF] WRITTEN IN 1992 BY BISHOP WAYNE BOOSAHDA AND RANDY SLY FOR THE COMPLETE LIBRARY OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP, ROBERT WEBBER, ED. (See list below for summary).
“Those who are being drawn by the Lord into this convergence of streams are characterized by several common elements. […] The walls between groups and denominations are already becoming veils which can be torn open, giving those from other branches greater opportunity to experience another’s faith and practice. […] The final verses of the Old Testament close with a promise that the spirit of Elijah will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers. While these verses have been used in recent days to characterize the need to return to family values, the hope also exists that a new spirit in the church will turn the hearts of this generation of believers back toward the apostolic fathers and others who formed and fashioned vital faith in the centuries following Christ’s ascension. They had envisioned and worked for a Christianity that was orthodox and durable, generation upon generation, operating in strict adherence to the revelation of Christ for His church. The church of the twentieth century is now eagerly looking back to these fathers of faith and discovering new life in the forms and structures God built in their midst. ”
1. A RESTORED COMMITMENT TO THE SACRAMENTS, ESPECIALLY THE LORD’S TABLE
2. AN INCREASED APPETITE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE EARLY CHURCH
3. A LOVE AND EMBRACE FOR THE WHOLE CHURCH, AND A DESIRE TO SEE THE CHURCH AS ONE
4. THE BLENDING IN THE PRACTICES OF ALL THREE STREAMS (EVANGELICAL, CHARISMATIC, SACRAMENTAL), YET EACH CHURCH APPROACHES CONVERGENCE FROM DIFFERENT BASES OF EMPHASIS
5. AN INTEREST IN INTEGRATING MORE STRUCTURE WITH SPONTANEITY IN WORSHIP
6. A GREATER INVOLVEMENT OF SIGN AND SYMBOL IN WORSHIP THROUGH BANNERS, CROSSES, CHRISTIAN ART AND CLERICAL VESTMENTS
7. A CONTINUING COMMITMENT TO PERSONAL SALVATION, BIBLICAL TEACHING, AND TO THE WORK AND MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT